


I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home

by orphan_account



Series: Lost and Found: Single Parent AU [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, jemma as skye's adoptive mom AU, phil is the social worker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 14:52:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4670828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A prequel of sorts to Lost and Found. </p><p>Jemma brings Skye home for the first time. </p><p>Prompted by magickgirl786 on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home

**Author's Note:**

> I planned on making this a bit less plot-heavy and more like a fluffy scene of vignettes, but I really wanted to explore how Jemma would prepare herself to be an adoptive parent, and how concerned she would be at making everything perfect. I think we see a lot of that in her in canon, so I hope I did a good job at portraying that here. 
> 
> I tried to keep Skye at an age-appropriate developmental stage, since she's only 3. In reality, she would probably be a little far behind where she is here, given that she grew up in foster care and whatnot, but I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to have accurately written that. However, I've been a nanny for just about every age, so I think she's pretty much at the right level for a 3-year-old. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this :) Coming up next from this series will be a lighter fluff piece, co-starring Bobbi & Hunter: the backstory to the "don't talk nerdy to boys" line from Lost and Found.

When Phil Coulson arrived at Jemma Simmons’ small, bungalow style home, he raised his hand to knock on the door. Before he even made contact, it swung open, revealing the optimistic Brit he had come to know in the last month. 

“Hello!” she said brightly. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and it bobbed as she beamed at him enthusiastically. “Are you ready to go?” 

He looked at her in amusement. “You’re really sure about this, then?” 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, and it’s my job to be sure about things,” she said seriously. The smile he gave her was kind, and he nodded back toward his car. 

“Let’s get started.” 

She grabbed her purse off of the floor and checked her appearance quickly in the mirror. Shirt properly buttoned? Check. Makeup tastefully done to appear her actual age? Check. Studs in her ears actually matching? Check plus. Jemma took a deep breath and nodded firmly at her own reflection. This was happening. She could do this. 

She followed Coulson to his car wordlessly. Her nerves were finally beginning to catch up with her, and she could feel them fluttering in her bones as Phil started the car and began the drive to St. Agnes. 

“She knows you’re coming,” Phil told her suddenly. “I was just there this morning. She’s a little nervous, but I think she’s excited, deep down.” 

Jemma nodded before realizing that he probably expects her to say something. “Well, she and I will already have one thing in common, then.” 

He smiled gently at her. “You’re the fifth person to take her home, but they’ve always taken her back. I think she’s just scared.” 

Jemma swallowed hard at the thought of Skye—sweet little Skye who she’s visited so many times, who drew her sloppy pictures and loved to listen to her read—being abandoned back at an orphanage time and time again. “I’m hoping that her room will make her feel like it’s a more permanent situation.” 

“She’s never had her own room. And you’re the first one to use her chosen name.” 

“Well, you can’t exactly blame her for not liking the name Mary Sue Poots,” Jemma agreed with a crinkled nose. “Skye is a beautiful name. I think it suits her just fine.” 

“I agree with you. You letting her make that choice for herself will go very far. She’s not used to have any sort of choice. It might take her a while to get used to.” 

They were nearly there when a thought suddenly occurred to Jemma. “Oh my God, Phil! Please stop at this gas station!” 

He looked at her in alarm but quickly pulled into it. “What’s wrong?” 

“I didn’t get her anything,” Jemma huffed. “She’s got all this stuff at home but I didn’t bring her a welcome home gift.” 

Phil shook his head. “You really don’t need to do that, Miss Simmons.” 

“Please, Phil. It’s Jemma. And I really do. I’ll be right back,” she said, rushing into the gas station. She was pleased to find that it’s central location meant that it stocked souveneirs. She paced up and down the aisles until she found a row of plush toys. Something about the chocolate lab reminded her of her new daughter’s eyes, so she plucked him off of the shelf and quickly paid for him. She dashed back to the car and slid into the seat. 

“That was fast,” Phil remarked. 

“I normally excel at preparation,” Jemma sighed as they pulled back out into the road. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” 

Phil snorted. “Well, you were probably wrapped up in excessively preparing your home. You went above and beyond on that one.” 

“It’s very important that she feel welcomed,” Jemma replied indignantly. “Studies show that foster children generally settle into a space better when they’re given a fair amount of their own space and if they’re given their own belongings.” 

Phil chuckled. “I’m just teasing you, Jemma. Skye is going to feel more welcome with you than she has with anyone else. It just may take her a while. There’s a lot of self-doubt built up, and even though she’s only three—“ 

“—she’s suffered significant emotional damages already, yes,” Jemma finished. He shot her a look and she looked annoyed with herself. “I’ve got to stop finishing other people’s sentences. Bad habit, sorry.” 

He looked at her fondly. “You’re going to be a great mom, Jemma.” 

The corners of her mouth quirked upward. “Thank you, Phil.” 

They pulled up to St. Agnes and Jemma could feel her nerves vibrating within her. What if Skye didn’t want to leave with her? What if she hated her? 

Phil placed a calming hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Let’s go get her, hm?” 

Jemma took in a deep breath and followed him toward the doors. She’d visited St. Agnes twice a week for a month, but it never failed to appall her. Most of the nuns did the best they could, but the entire institution was overcrowded and underfunded. It was simply one large room with small cots on the floor. Children chased each other around, but most sat dejectedly on their beds or on the floor, looking bored and miserable. 

“I wish I could take them all,” Jemma whispered, mostly to herself. 

“Tell me about it,” Phil commiserated. “But I’ve already got my hands full with Grant. Melinda would kill me. Plus it’s a little hard to adopt another child without your wife finding out.” 

“Wait a second,” Jemma began suddenly. “Are you and Melinda—“ 

He shot her an amused and secretive look, and she grinned at him. She’d met the stoic woman several times in the course of the process, and she’d thought she had noticed something between them. He lifted his hand and showed her a wedding ring, and she nearly squealed. How she had missed that, she’d never know. 

Jemma looked out at the room once more, eager to find Skye. She found her, sitting off to the side and aimlessly fiddling with a broken toy. Jemma clutched the stuffed dog tightly to herself and made her way over to her. 

Skye looked up when she sensed Jemma coming, and as soon as Jemma saw her face, the nerves within her calmed. She kneeled in front of her and smiled softly. 

“Hello, Skye,” she greeted. This made Skye smile. “Are you ready to head home?” 

Skye looked surprised, as though she hadn’t believed Jemma was actually going to take her home, despite all of the visits she had made. 

“Home?” 

“Yes, home. To our home. Your room is all ready for you. But I was thinking it might be nice for you to have someone to explore with…think this little guy is up for the task?” 

She offered Skye the stuffed dog, and her eyes lit up as her little arms grabbed for him and squeezed. 

“He so cute!” she exclaimed happily. 

“Would you like to name him?” Jemma asked her. 

Skye screwed up her face in concentration. “Phil.” 

Phil looked over at the mention of his name. “Yes, Skye?” 

“Not you. This Phil,” she explained, holding up the dog. Jemma laughed happily and she suspected that the brightness in Phil’s eyes meant he was near tears. 

“I think that’s the perfect name for him,” Jemma said approvingly. This seemed to make Skye proud, and she hopped off of the bed. “You both seem ready. Let’s get going then, shall we?” 

Skye nodded, and Jemma reached a hand out to her. Skye stared at it for a moment before shyly taking it with the hand that was not holding desperately to her new toy. Jemma suspected it was probably the first brand new item she’d ever owned, although there were many more waiting for her at home. 

The paper work had been dealt with in the preceding week, so Jemma and Phil had only a brief conversation with one of the administrators before they were able to bring Skye to Phil’s car. Jemma got her set up in the car seat in the back and sat in the backseat next to her new daughter. 

The ride was fairly quiet, and Skye stared out of the window with interest at her surroundings. When they pulled up to Jemma’s buttercup yellow house, she watched Skye’s face slacken with awe. 

“This your house?!” 

“This is our house,” Jemma said fondly, unbuckling the little girl from her seat. 

“I’m going to let you two get comfortable,” Phil said. Skye ran forward and hugged him around the legs, and he patted her head. “I’ll see you soon, Skye. Have fun with Jemma, okay? She’s a very nice lady. She’ll take very good care of you.” 

Skye still looked a little nervous, but she seemed to accept it. “Okay, Phil. Bye-bye.” 

“Bye-bye,” he repeated, and with a little wave, he was gone. Jemma brought Skye into the house and gave her a brief tour. The last stop was in front of Skye’s room. 

“What’s that?” Skye asked, pointing at the letters on the door. 

“That’s your name,” Jemma explained patiently. “Those letters spell Skye. S-K-Y-E.” 

“Not Mary Sue?” 

“No, sweetheart. I won’t ever call you anything you don’t want to be called. You like Skye, right?” 

“I love Skye.” 

“Very good,” Jemma grinned. “Why don’t you go look at your new room?” 

Skye hesitantly pushed the door open and slowly walked in. Jemma marveled at how small she looked standing in the middle of the room. Skye stopped immediately in front of the comet mural, awestruck. 

“Wow,” she breathed. “What’s that?” 

“It’s a comet,” Jemma said nervously. “If you don’t like it, I’ll have Hunter come and paint something different on the wall.” 

Skye shook her head vehemently. “No. I like it.” 

Jemma smiled at her. “Good, I’m glad. Now I want you to know that everything in this room is yours. You can put your stuff wherever you want, okay?” 

Skye looked unsure, but nodded in understanding anyway. She looked down at her measly backpack, and Jemma’s heart broke with the knowledge that all of Skye’s worldly possessions, other than the new ones that Jemma had purchased her, were held in a threadbare backpack. 

“I went ahead and bought you some clothes,” Jemma finally said. “But just a few things. I figured we could go shopping together tomorrow, and you can pick out some things for yourself. I wasn’t sure what you like to wear.” 

“Me either,” Skye admitted with a small shrug. “But okay.” 

Jemma valiantly kept her face straight, knowing that demonstrating any type of negative emotion toward Skye’s statement would make her think she’d done something wrong. She swallowed her sadness for Skye—her daughter, she reminded herself—and gave her the brightest smile she could muster. 

“I’m going to get started on some dinner. How does macaroni and cheese sound?” 

“That sounds so good!” Skye squeaked. Jemma held out a hand and Skye dashed to hold it. 

“How about you give me a hand in the kitchen? I could use a partner.” 

“A part-ner?” Skye asked, sounding out the unfamiliar word slowly. 

Jemma nodded. “Yes, a partner. Somebody that you work with, like a team. You support each other and you’re nice to each other, and you always help each other. I’m your partner now.” 

“Partners,” Skye said softly, her grip tightening on Jemma’s hand. Jemma gave her a little squeeze in return. 

“Partners,” she affirmed. “Would you like me to pick you up so you can see?” 

Skye eagerly nodded and Jemma easily lifted her onto her hip, setting about making mac and cheese. 

*** 

That evening, Jemma could hardly sleep. She had given Skye a bath and found faded bruises all along her spine, which had nauseated her. Skye had seemed nervous to go to sleep on her own, but she insisted that she didn’t need Jemma to stay, obviously trying to not be too much trouble. 

And so Jemma waited, tossing and turning, for an appropriate amount of time before she could wait and make sure that Skye was doing okay. She had already called Bobbi and had a whispered conversation with her, but she had now run out of things to distract her. Sighing, she stood and made her way into the hallway, listening at Skye’s door, which remained open a crack. The little flower nightlight that Jemma had picked out glowed in the corner. 

She heard a sudden little sob, and immediately entered the room. Skye sat in the middle of the bed, clutching her knees and crying into them. 

“Oh, sweetheart,” Jemma cooed, rushing forward. This only succeeded in startling the toddler, who scrambled backwards with a little scream. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I heard you crying so I was just worried about you.” 

Skye continued to cry, attempting to hide her face. Jemma approached slowly and knelt down beside the bed. 

“What’s the matter, Skye? Is everything okay?” 

Skye shook her head quickly, and Jemma softly placed her hand on her tiny shoulder. 

“Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, baby? I’m sure I can help you fix it.” 

“I—I like it here,” Skye stuttered through her cries. 

And then it clicked. She understood, and without giving herself time to second-guess herself, she quickly moved onto the bed and pulled Skye into her lap. She’d been afraid to show too much affection too quickly, not wanting to overwhelm her, but what Skye needed now was comfort. 

“I’m so glad you do,” Jemma mumbled into her hair, rubbing her back soothingly. “I very much wanted you to like it here. And I know it’s going to take a while for you to get used to it, but this is your home now, okay? I’m your mom now. And I’m not going to give you back. Ever.” 

Skye sobbed harder, and Jemma held her a bit tighter, pressing a kiss onto her head. 

“We’re partners now, remember? And even more than that, we’re family now. And the only rule in family is that nobody gets left behind.” 

“My real—real mom and dad---left—behind.” 

“Shh, none of that is your fault, darling,” Jemma murmured, rocking her gently. “It’s okay. I’m here. Right here for you, okay?” 

“You’ll stay?” Skye sniffled. 

“Yes, I will. In fact, why don’t you come to my big bed? I have a nice TV in my room. Perhaps we could watch a little cartoon to help cheer us up before we go to sleep. I find cartoons always lead to sweet dreams.” 

“Really?” 

“Mhm. I’m a scientist, so you know I’m telling the truth,” Jemma said sagely, smiling as the little girl slowly nodded. Jemma scooped her up and moved toward her bedroom, placing Skye in the middle of her sage green comforter. She looked absolutely tiny in the king sized bed, and Jemma immediately crawled in beside her. She noticed that Skye still had a hand clutched around Phil. 

“I see Phil is joining us!” Jemma said happily. “What do you think he’d like to watch?” 

“He’s never seen any cartoons.” 

“Oh,” Jemma said. Obviously, Skye had never been allowed to watch TV. “Well, this one looks good. It’s called Sophia the First. About a little princess. Kind of like you.” 

Skye looked up at her and the look in her eyes made Jemma feel like she could do anything, because the way the little girl looked at her showed that Skye believed she could. 

Skye slowly scooted closer to Jemma throughout the cartoon, wrapping her little hands around Jemma’s bicep. Jemma put an arm around her, pulling her closer as Skye’s little eyes fluttered shut. She flicked off the TV but left the bedside light on, just in case Skye was afraid of the dark. 

In the morning, she woke to little fingers tracing her face, wide brown eyes studying her curiously. Skye startled at being caught, but Jemma simply pecked Skye’s tiny fingers. Skye relaxed and giggled lightly; it was the first time Jemma had heard her laugh, and the sound filled her with unadulterated love. 

“How about some breakfast, partner?” Jemma whispered with a grin. “Don’t tell Phil, but I think we should surprise him with some pancakes.” 

Skye’s eyes danced with mirth and she nodded happily. “Me too.” 

And so began their mother daughter tradition of chocolate chip pancakes on Saturday mornings.


End file.
